Policies

Confidentiality

We ask you for information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again. You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit, we may need to share some information about you.

We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone’s interests. Whenever we can, we shall remove details which identify you. The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law. The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a GP. It does not contain clinical information. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the 'classes' of information the practice intends to routinely make available.

This scheme is available from reception.

Complaints Policy

We are proud of our practice and our staff. Nonetheless, we recognise that problems may occasionally arise with the services we provide. Should you wish to make a complaint about us or our work, we give you the following undertakings:

We will endeavour to resolve minor complaints by the end of next working day.

Written unresolved complaints will be acknowledged within three working days including an offer to discuss the management of the complaint and timing of response.

We will offer you the opportunity to discuss your complaint with our practice manager, Mrs Sue Adcock, in private.

If your complaint involves a doctor, we will offer you the opportunity to discuss it with the nominated doctor.

If, despite our efforts, you feel your complaint has not been dealt with adequately, we will advise you how you may pursue it.

We would welcome comments, suggestions and enquiries - these should be addressed to the practice manager who will be happy to try and help.

Practice Charter

There is a leaflet which is available at reception which outlines our Patients' Charter; we do have a commitment to help our patients as much as possible and to continue to try and improve the service we provide. There is not room here to outline all the points in the Patients' Charter but we urge you to obtain a copy of this charter so that you can understand our commitment to you as patients and your responsibility to the team at the health centre enabling us to provide the best possible service to all of our patients.

Our Vision

To be recognised as a Centre of Excellence that provides the highest quality of NHS care, which is equitable, family orientated and evidence based.

Our Mission

We will consistently strive to provide comprehensive health care that fully reflects and addresses the needs of the community we serve. Key to this will be evidence based patient centred care. Respect and courtesy towards our patients and their carers will be a hallmark of our efforts. We will at all times respond adequately and appropriately to the needs of our patients, within the scope of The NHS. We will continue to provide the highest standards in teaching and training to future generations of health care professionals.

- Our NHS - Our Future -

Practice Values

Patients’ medical conditions will be managed according to the highest of standards as defined by the professions

Patients will be treated with courtesy and consideration by all our staff

Patients will receive appropriate information about their condition and treatment

The practice will endeavour to educate patients on health care matters whenever possible

The whole primary healthcare team will be encouraged to pursue appropriate further training

The practice will provide professional training as a service to the profession as a whole

Equality

The practice does not discriminate on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition.

General Information For Patients

All information about our patients is treated as strictly confidential.

No member of the practice may discriminate against or treat unfairly another member of the practice, a patient or a member of the public attending the surgery, on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour or creed, age, marital status, disability, medical condition, social background or sexual orientation. Respect and dignity are the right of everyone, staff patients and members of the public.

Smoking is not permitted in the surgery or on the practice premises - it is illegal to do so. Please do not eat and drink in the surgery building. Mobile phones are not to be used in the building.

If you change your telephone number or address, please let the receptionist know. Remember we may have a need to contact you urgently.

Code of Conduct

It is the aim of the practice to provide a safe a pleasant environment in which patients and visitors may receive healthcare and staff may carry out their work. To assist in providing this, all persons accessing the services of the practice are expected to observe the Practice Code of Conduct.

This Code of Conduct states:

Persons attending the practice whether in person or by telephone should behave in a manner that respects the rights of others and the practice environment.

The following behaviour violates the Code and is therefore considered to be unacceptable:

Excessive noise which is obtrusive to others in the vicinity

Use of threatening/abusive/obscene language

Offensive remarks of racial, sexual or personally derogatory nature

Damage to property

Theft

Spitting

Inappropriate behaviour involving alcohol/substance misuse

Any person acting in an unacceptable manner will be asked by a member of staff to stop behaving in such a way and to observe the practice Code of Conduct.

If a person repeatedly fails to observe the Code of Conduct, the Primary Care Trust will make alternative arrangements for the patient to receive his/her healthcare. These arrangements will be advised to the patient in writing by the Primary Care Trust.

Violent behaviour is never tolerated and will result in police prosecution of the aggressor and the direct and immediate removal of the patient concerned from the practice list.

Data Protection

The practice is fully computerised and the confidential information held on computer is covered by the Data Protection Act.

The Data Protection Act 1998 governs the use of personal information through data protection principles. These principles require that personal information is:

processed fairly and lawfully

processed for one or more specified and lawful purpose, and not further processed in any way that is incompatible with the original purpose

adequate, relevant and not excessive

accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date

kept for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being used

processed in line with an individual’s rights

kept secure with appropriate technical and organisational measures taken to protect the information

not transferred outside the European Economic Area (the European member states plus Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) unless there is adequate protection for the personal information being transferred.

As we process personal information covered by the Act, our staff comply with the Data Protection principles.

Summary Care Record

If you have concerns, you can get more information in several ways:

Get a copy of the leaflets, ‘Your health information, confidentiality and the NHS Care Records Service’ and ‘The NHS Care Record Guarantee for England’ from the website (http://www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/). When the Summary Care Record is about to come to your area, you will also be able to get the leaflets from your GP surgery. Contact your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), ask your local NHS for detailsor visit www.pals.nhs.uk.

If you wish your data to be withheld please put this in writing and give it to your Doctoror any member of staff at the surgery.

Freedom Of Information

Access To Medical Records

For routine audit purposes, representatives of the Primary Care Trust will be required to look at patients’ medical records. The auditors may not be medically qualified but all are bound by their contract of employment to respect confidentiality. However, if you do not wish your notes to be used in this way, please inform us at the front desk and your notes will be annotated accordingly. Insurance companies and solicitors will ask for access to your medical records in certain circumstances, eg mortgage applications and accidents. We will only release this information if you have signed a medical records release form.